Playhouse Disney Mini-Shows

If you found my blog about PBS Kids Sprout mini-shows informative, then this one will be just as interesting for you to read. Playhouse Disney also has quite a few mini-shows that they present in between their regular programming. They have had some regular ones for a while and recently they have added a few more. My daughter loves all of them, so I figured it would be nice to share them with my readers. Go, Baby! This is about a little baby boy and his discoveries of the world around him. For a while, they just showed the same … Continue reading →

Handy Manny

Hola! Handy Manny’s repair shop. You break it, we fix it. This is Manny. There is a new fixer-upper in town and his name is Handy Manny. Along with his little tools, he can fix anything in Sheetrock Hills. Whether it’s fixing a broken horn on a train or assembling a flagpole for a celebration, Manny Garcia always has the right solution. This show is yet a great way for children to learn conflict resolution and help develop problem-solving skills. Wilmer Valderrama is the voice of Manny, but you may know him better as Fez from “That ’70s Show.” Of … Continue reading →

PBS Kids Sprout Mini-Shows

There is a kids television station that we have on digital cable here called PBS Kids Sprout. It is almost like PBS Kids’s version of NOGGIN — it’s television for pre-schoolers. In addition to all of the PBS Kids shows like “Curious George,” “Sesame Street,” and “Caillou,” there are also what I like to call their “mini-shows.” Really what this means is that the shows are only about five minutes to ten minutes long, or they only play about five to ten minutes of the show’s episode. The following are some of PBS Kids Sprout’s mini-shows. Pingu Pingu is the … Continue reading →

Grocery Store Carts with Televisions!

I happened upon a newspaper article in the Sunday, September 17th edition of the Daily Herald that I found very interesting. Written by Greg Bluestein of the Associated Press, it tells how a grocery store in Alpharetta, Georgia, has installed small television screens in some of their shopping carts so children can watch while their parents get the marketing done. I say, get some of those brought over here to Utah! I don’t believe in letting my children turn into little zombies in front of the TV. But let’s be totally honest, shall we – aren’t there times when you … Continue reading →

Learning About Other Cultures and Religions Through Children’s Television

Sometimes we have a tendency to think of TV as just entertainment, when it can be much more. One episode of “Blue’s Clues” we particularly enjoyed was one where Steve and Blue were making the rounds of the neighborhood, wishing their friends a happy holiday season. They went to a home where Kwanzaa was being celebrated, with corn and goblets set on a mat, and learned that Kwanzaa commemorates the strength of community and togetherness. Then they went to a Jewish home and learned about the miracle that began the tradition of Hanukah. Their last stop was at a Christian … Continue reading →

Building Your Child’s Vocabulary

I remember a day about four years ago when my then three-year-old son came up to me and said, “I think that animal is a nocturnals.” I looked at him and blinked. “Do you know what nocturnal means?” I asked, not blatantly correcting his pronunciation. “They sleep when it’s daytime,” he told me, a very serious expression on his face. He got this information from watching the television show “Stanley.” As a homeschooling mother, I do like to teach my children words and concepts, but I wouldn’t have ordinarily thought to teach him about nocturnal animals at the age of … Continue reading →

Clifford the Big Red Dog

Based on the “Clifford the Big Red Dog” books by Norman Bridwell, the television series was a hit from the moment it was first introduced to the public television airwaves. Believe it or not, Clifford was the runt of his litter. When Emily Elizabeth Howard came to pick out a puppy, she felt sorry for him because he was so small. Her love made him grow to the size he is today. (Moral of the story: don’t let your children get too attached to their pets.) The small apartment where the Howards used to live just won’t hold them anymore; … Continue reading →

Brandy and Mr. Whiskers

Brandy is a trendy, hip, uptown little dog with high fashion clothes and a definite flair for the dramatic. Mr. Whiskers is a smack-talking, street smart rabbit with a little more ego than he has brains. Through an odd series of events, they have found themselves stranded in the Amazon and are trying to find a way to co-exist while there. A show geared more toward girls over the age of seven, “Brandy and Mr. Whiskers” glorifies malls, shopping, and the importance of bailing your friends out of trouble. An episode I caught the other day depicted Brandy teaching Mr. … Continue reading →

Reading Rainbow

Almost as much a paragon of children’s programming as Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow has been on the air since I was a child. Not that I’m terribly old; I’m just making the point that it’s a show with a proven track record. Hosted by LeVar Burton (you may remember him from Star Trek: The Next Generation – he’s the one who wore the visor that looked like a banana clip) this show not only talks about books, but it takes children places mentioned in books. LeVar goes to museums, factories, stores, different areas all over the country, talking to tradesmen … Continue reading →

Watching TV With Your Children

When my daughter was five, I made the crucial mistake of trusting a movie without watching it first. The show was “Madeline: Lost in Paris,” and my mom brought it over as a gift. I had things to do down the hall, so I put in the show and went on my merry way. Later I found my daughter in hysterics, scared that someone was going to chop off her hair. After I got her calmed down, she told me that in the show, Madeline had been told to make lace, and if she didn’t do it, all her hair … Continue reading →